Family Vacation ... Another form of healing...

Video By  ' Mikey and Me '

Music played by Brandon

"A family vacation can be one of the best forms of healing..."

 

Why do I say this?

Well, let me share something with you...

This year my wonderful children, and their significant others decided to arrange a family vacation in Rye, NH. That area is a very special place to us, because it is just down the road from Hampton Beach...

How we love Hampton Beach! In the past, that is where we would spend our carefree summers...

Days filled with building sand castles, swimming, sunbathing , picnicking, touch football, rollerblading...You name it we did it! The nights were filled with free live concerts, dancing under the stars, playing at the video arcades, taking black and white pictures in the cheesy photo booths, eating greasy fried dough, or beach pizza, sno cones, and candy apples, and then... FIREWORKS!!

Yes, Hampton Beach is very dear to us...

Earlier this year, our loving children came up with the idea of a family vacation spent at the beach. After scouring the Internet, the perfect place was found.

Although it wasn't in the heart of Hampton Beach , it was close enough to take a quick trip there whenever we felt the urge for some live entertainment and greasy junk food. Far enough that we had the pleasure of experiencing some much needed peace and quiet.

The  place was located within walking distance of a well kept secret.

Pirate's Cove ... A quaint family oriented beach. The best part was  the fact that it welcomed dogs in the early morning and early evening hours (7 - 9). Perfect!

That meant Kona and Kira could spend lots of time at the beach as well...

The house itself was quite large...

3 bedrooms, 3 baths,  a well equipped kitchen for Sean's culinary skills, dining area in kitchen where everyone could congregate in the morning for breakfast, front to back living room, nice big formal dining room for family dinners,

a den with an attached sun room, that could be converted into another bedroom for visiting guests, and for Kona and Kira, there  was a huge yard for lots of running and playing, and just hanging out..

As I said earlier, the place was perfect!

It was agreed that there would be no set schedules...we would head out to the beach at our own leisure times... Breakfast would be  a family affair, as well as dinner. For lunch, we were on our own... There were no group trips planned, or any commitments to be filled..we would just let each day unfold..This vacation was  simply for relaxing...plain and simple.

Brandon , Jane, Christian, Tiana and Sean arrived two days before Dave and I...

Mikey and Joan joined us mid-week.

As soon as Dave and I arrived, I was in heaven ... I began to savor every moment spent with my family.It brought me back to the days gone by, my family vacations.

So many sweet memories...

First with my parents and siblings...then with Dave, Brandon and Tiana...

and now, with our own little extended family- Sean and Jane..plus my big brother Mikey, and his lovely wife Joan...and last but not least, our first grandson, Christian Anthony ! 

I suddenly realized that on this vacation, I would have the opportunity to experience the past, present, and future ...

Being in Rye, and close to Hampton would bring back memories of vacations past...

I would be enjoying every single moment of the present...

And I was sure to be daydreaming of the future ...

Dreaming of future trips to Hampton and Rye, with our grandson Christian ...

Watching Brandon and Tiana teaching him how to surf... Seeing Sean playing touch football with Brandon and Christian...And last but not least, Jane proudly snapping photos of all the precious moments taking place...

It couldn't get any better than that .

I bring my thoughts back to the present...

I immediately experienced a feeling of closeness that everyone

seemed to share so openly.

It was magical...

Brandon and Tiana, happily preparing the family breakfasts together...Sean, carefully planning and preparing the family dinners ... Me, sharing kitchen clean up duty with Mike and Joan ...Watching Dave  actually relaxing, and proudly playing with his grandson...Jane, looking on and smiling that megawatt smile of hers , then grabbing her camera ...Posing for family photos... Sharing stories, hearing the laughter..

I began etching each precious moment in my mind...

First, Baby Christian- Our personal ray of sunshine!

I will never forget how he woke his Oma and Papa up that first morning at the Beach House...

We heard a faint knock on our bedroom door...It opened ever so slightly, and there was our Little Angel Christian, magically walking in on his own with a huge smile on his face!! (of course his Mommy was hiding behind the door propping him up).That is an image that will be forever ingrained in my mind !

Throughout the week,Christian graciously entertained us with his adorable smiles and giggles, deep hearty laughs, and  wonderful disposition.We all loved watching perform his newest trick... playing  with both of his feet at the same time.Seeing that satisfied look of accomplishment and pride made us all want to shout out in amazement and praise him endlessly ... We love him so... He is the Center of our Universe!

So many wonderful memories were made that week...

 I will fondly remember...

All of us taking a morning and evening walk with Kona and Kira...

Seeing Brandon, Jane, Tiana, and Sean kneeling in the wet sand, diligently digging ,making our special little guy Christian a clean, safe, comfy tidal pool of his own...Watching Brandon and Jane being such protective and loving parents...Witnessing for the first time what a softie Sean really is ... Seeing Tiana's nurturing side, and realizing that she takes being Christian's godmother quite seriously... Sitting with my big brother Mikey and watching him protect Christian from the sun...(he actually climbed into the baby pop-up tent with him...what a sight that was !)... Enjoying some deep conversations with Joan, and sharing our thoughts and ideas about life...Actually seeing Brandon and Tiana surfing together  -  up close ... Witnessing Jane proudly taking a constant stream of pictures for all of us to enjoy later ... (I am so grateful she did that)... Lying in the sun with my soul mate, Dave and really, really relaxing... (until we got burnt to a crisp ! )

I especially love the precious family moments ...

My early morning walks in the huge yard with Christian , Kona, and Kira, ...watching my two grand dogs frolic in the dewy grass....

Losing Kona at the beach to some crazy lady, and Tiana having to retrieve him (sheesh)...Seeing Brandon, Jane,Tiana and Sean truly bonding...All of us at the beach just chilling, enjoying the moment...Watching Tiana give her Dad a refresher course on how to surf... Silently praying for them to safely catch some waves...Seeing the fireworks at Hampton Beach with Mikey and Joan...The eight of of us always hovering over Christian...Mikey teaching me the fine art of video making (he is so talented!!)... Dave hobbling around because of his sunburned feet...All of us laughing while watching David hobble around on his sunburned feet...David being a good sport about us joking about his sunburned feet...Celebrating Brandon's 29th Birthday (best cake ever, Jane!)...Yummy Family Breakfasts, and Delicious Family Dinners...All of us sitting at the kitchen table, sharing meals,joking, laughing , just plain talking...The final day of family group shots...End result ?...

My all time favorite photos ... (even though some family members think they are 'cheesy' ... lol)

The only thing that saddened me, was that it all went by so quickly. It seemed like it was over in the blink of an eye.

Now, almost a month has gone by...

There are times when I am not feeling my best ,or I find myself lying awake at night  with crazy thoughts running through my head...That is when  when I love to look back and dream about our family vacation ... I am extremely grateful to be able to relive  those precious moments with my family once again...

Almost immediately, a comforting warmth envelops my soul, and the pain subsides. The busy mind relaxes, and is finally put at ease.

My entire being quickly overflows with a joyous feeling ... my heart gently reminds me of the unconditional love that was shared during that priceless family vacation. Suddenly my heart fills with joy...I begin to smile...the smile breaks out into a giggle.. and the giggle develops into a true, honest to goodness, deep from the soul, hearty laugh... 

Darkness becomes light...Sorrow becomes joy... Despair turns into hope...

My faith is renewed. I feel so blessed...

I am being ...

HEALED.

"A moment lasts all of a second, but the memory lives on forever.”

~Author Unknown

"So try to make each memory a positive one"

~Sandra